McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

This could be the day when Minnesota lawmakers decide the fate of a new Vikings stadium.

It also could be decision time for fixing the crumbling Capitol and dozens of other public facilities across the state. In addition, millions of dollars of job-creating tax incentives are on the line.

Then again, maybe not today.

For months, leaders of the Republican-controlled House and Senate had said Monday, April 30, was the deadline for the legislative session.

But as crunch time approached on Saturday, House Speaker Kurt Zellers said he was willing to let the session drag on an “extra day” if that’s what it takes to resolve the remaining big issues.

Those issues are the $1 billion stadium, a Republican tax-cut package and a public works financing bill.

Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and GOP legislative leaders have not agreed on the size or contents of the tax and construction bills.

If there’s a sense of urgency to reach agreement, it wasn’t apparent Sunday. The governor and top lawmakers did not meet or exchange any offers on the outstanding issues. A Dayton spokeswoman said they tentatively plan to meet on Monday.

House and Senate floor sessions are scheduled to start at noon. Under the legal definition of a “legislative day,” they could meet until 6:59 a.m. Tuesday and still meet the leaders’ end-of-April goal.

But if they pass any bills on Monday, they could not wrap up their work until Tuesday. The state constitution bars lawmakers from passing

bills on the day they adjourn for the biennium.

Late last week, Dayton and DFL legislative leaders were pushing Republicans for a quick up-or-down vote on the stadium. The governor said it should rise or fall on its own merits.

But Zellers said the tax-cut and infrastructure bills were higher priorities for Republicans, suggesting that he might not bring the stadium measure up for a vote until the other issues were resolved.

When it became apparent Saturday night that Dayton and GOP leaders had failed to negotiate a tax package, an all-Republican House-Senate conference committee assembled one of their own.

It would freeze state-levied property taxes on businesses for one year, provide an upfront sales tax exemption for capital equipment purchases by small business, enrich the state’s “angel tax credit” for investments in startup companies and provide tax credits to employers who hire veterans.

Dayton has said he’s willing to accept some tax cuts if Republicans agree to fund more of the state construction projects he wants. But he also said he won’t sign a tax bill that would increase the state’s projected $1.1 billion deficit in the next two-year budget cycle. So if the GOP majority passes their package, as expected, he’s likely to veto it.

Dayton wants to borrow $775 million by selling bonds for public works projects. Republicans prefer to hold the construction price tag to just under $500 million. Their plan would make a down payment on the estimated $200 million-plus cost of restoring the Capitol.

But it takes a three-fifths “super majority” of votes in the two houses to pass a bonding bill, so the GOP majority needs DFL support. So far, they don’t have it. DFL lawmakers complain they have been shut out of bill-drafting process.

No one knows how it will all turn out. As leaders in both parties are fond of saying, the situation is fluid.